History YMMV / InheritanceCycle

** Sloan, especially in ''Brisingr'', to the point where some readers see him as UnintentionallySympathetic. Sloan has [[TheMourningAfter never gotten over his wife's tragic death]] in Spine, causing him to detest the place and to be [[KnightTemplarParent overprotective]] of his daughter, Katrina, out of fear he will lose her too. In ''Eldest'', he and his family are threatened by the Ra'zac, and Sloan finds out Katrina (who's only seventeen) has gotten engaged behind his back to a man he doesn't approve of while ''the village is under siege'' (Sloan's argument that Roran has no job, money or other means to provide for Katrina comes off as a case of JerkassHasAPoint). Out of desperation to save Katrina, Sloan makes a deal with the Ra'zac, who subsequently double-cross him, locking his daughter up before torturing him, pecking his eyes out and leaving him to rot in a cell, not knowing where Katrina is or if she's safe. Sometime later, he's found by Eragon, who chooses to tell Katrina and Roran he is dead, then {{Mind Rape}}s Sloan and puts a spell on him that forces him to walk all the way to Du Weldenvarden to live with the elves, and to never see his daughter and grandchild again (without trial). Sloan may have been a {{Jerkass}} and some of his actions were indefensible, but at the end of the day his main motivation is [[PapaWolf trying to protect the daughter]] he was never able to make amends with. Considering this and that his life is pretty much one [[TraumaCongaLine trauma]] and humiliation after another, it's hard not to pity the guy.

* CommonKnowledge: The oft-repeated 'fact' that Christopher Paolini was just fifteen years old when he wrote ''Eragon''. This isn't ''entirely'' true; while he did write the first draft of ''Eragon'' at fifteen, the final version of the novel wasn't completed and published until he was nineteen. Which is ''still'' pretty darn impressive.

** Murtagh, arguably [[EnsembleDarkhorse the most popular character]] in the series, is often thought to have a lot of wasted potential. After the first book, he is essentially reduced to the role of '[[TheDragon Galbatorix's minion]]' and has little characterisation or role outside this until the last book; in ''Eldest'' he only shows up in a handful of chapters at the beginning and end, and is otherwise absent for the majority of the book. Some readers have even expressed the view he could've been the main protagonist instead of Eragon, as he's generally seen as being a more interesting, complex and developed character, while Eragon is often criticised for being a bland, one-dimensional stereotype; not helping is the fact that Paolini has stated that Saphira would actually probably have hatched for Murtagh, had [[ForWantOfANail their paths crossed before she encountered Eragon]].

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: If not a case of AccidentalAesop. Depending on how you read it, the ''Inheritance Cycle'' can present an Aesop along the lines of "People will ultimately follow in their parents'/predecessors' footsteps whether they like it or not, and [[YouCantFightFate no matter how hard they try to change it]]". [[note]] Eragon ends up becoming a dragon rider who lives in exile almost completely alone, separated from his loved ones forever, just like [[spoiler: his father Brom]]. Arya [[spoiler: never wanted or aspired to be queen, but gets elected queen anyway, as her mother Islanzadi was before her]]. Nasuada is elected the Varden's leader the same as her father Ajihad, then later becomes ruler of the Empire in essentially the same way as Galbatorix; it's even hinted she may end up being a similar ruler if she's not careful. Roran gets a peaceful family life, but is separated from his cousin - who is like a brother to him - and will probably never see him again, much like his dad Garrow and his sister Selena. Murtagh, despite going to extraordinary lengths to avoid it, ends up becoming Galby's lieutenant (albeit not by choice) and ends up hated and feared by everyone, like his father Morzan (though luckily [[spoiler: he's able to get free eventually and helps take down the king... not that this really changes most people's opinion of him]]). Also, like his mother he's forced into committing evil because his boss harms and threatens his loved ones, no matter how much he loathes it.[[/note]]

** At the end of ''Eldest'', Roran is informed that [[spoiler: he has another cousin he [[LongLostRelative never knew about]], who has been [[MindRape magically]] [[ForcedIntoEvil enslaved]] by the BigBad]]. While at the time he does have other things on his mind, such as his girlfriend being kidnapped by the Ra'zac, overall he doesn't react much to this revelation and never really thinks or talks about [[spoiler: Murtagh]].

** The series features a big 'un in the shape of previously never-mentioned [[spoiler: magical elf twins and their dragon spirit]], who cure [[spoiler: Eragon's achy back scar]], allowing him to fight properly again - the only implication is that it's one of the dragon's 'inexplicable' pieces of magic, specifically a physical manifestation of the Rider-Dragon arrangement. It's also later revealed that the specifics of the event [[spoiler:that healed Eragon were done by the hidden Dragon Eldunari, when otherwise nothing might have happened at all]]. They turn up once more in the fourth book [[spoiler:so Eragon can make it so Dwarfs and Urgals can become Riders as well, thus solving all racism forever]].

* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: The original cover art for the novels, each depicting a portrait of a different dragon, [[note]] Saphira for ''Eragon'', Thorn for ''Eldest'', Glaedr for ''Brisingr'' and [[spoiler: Firnen]] for ''Inheritance''[[/note]] are quite pretty and are some of the most memorable things about the books to more casual readers of the series.

** It's extremely obvious that Brom is a former Dragon Rider and that his dead dragon's name was also Saphira. Among other things, Brom clearly knows the Varden, knows how to do magic and knows lots of detailed information about dragons and riders. Despite the mountainload of clues, Eragon never manages to put two-and-two together and is gobsmacked when he finds out. The [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie adaptation]] actually has Eragon figure this out himself relatively early on, rather than Brom revealing it later [[spoiler: on his deathbed]].

** TheReveal that the green dragon egg would hatch for [[spoiler: Arya]] for ''many'' readers, especially considering [[WordofGod Paolini]] stated the green rider would be someone we’d already met. It would probably have been a great deal more unexpected if it ''wasn't'' [[spoiler: Arya]].

* ClicheStorm: One of its most common criticisms. The first book in particular is often derided for being very predictable and derivative, such as the main protagonist being a FarmBoy-turned-hero who is secretly TheChosenOne and has {{Mysterious Parent}}s, the villain being a one-dimensional, bog-standard TakeOverTheWorld guy with thinly etched motivation, the hero having a wise OldMaster for a mentor [[spoiler: who [[MentorOccupationalHazard dies]] [[SacrificalLion saving the hero]] about halfway through]], the hero turning out to be [[spoiler: the [[LukeIAmYourFather son of one of the villains]] and the brother of another]] and features stock fantasy races such as elves, dwarves and orcs ([[WritingAroundTrademarks or ''urgals'', as they are called]]), which are pretty much ripped straight off Tolkien. Critics have also pointed out that the plot of ''Eragon'' is so similar to the plot of the first ''Star Wars'' movie, it's practically ''Film/ANewHope'' recycled in [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Middle-Earth]]. The cliches do actually die down more [[GrowingTheBeard in the sequels]], though, with the characters and whatnot becoming more fleshed out.

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: A common criticism is that the series, though ''especially'' the first book, is very similar in terms of plot, characters and setting to other fantasy or speculative fiction series, in particular ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'', while doing little to add original ideas to these elements. The later books arguably get better about this, but some people still see the ''Cycle'' as a blatant rip-off of these other series.

'''Narration:''' When they finished, Eragon flopped on his blankets and groaned. He hurt everywhere –- Brom had not been gentle with his stick.

--> '''Murtagh:''' Death will take me before I'll expose myself to their probing!
-->'''Narration:''' When they finished, Eragon flopped on his blankets and groaned. He hurt everywhere – Brom had not been gentle with his stick.

* ClicheStorm: One of its most common criticisms. The first book in particular is often derided for being very predictable and derivative, such as the main protagonist being a FarmBoy-turned-hero who is secretly TheChosenOne and has {{Mysterious Parent}}s, the villain being a one-dimensional, bog-standard TakeOverTheWorld guy with thinly etched motivation, the hero having a wise OldMaster for a mentor [[spoiler: who [[MentorOccupationalHazard dies]] [[SacrificalLion saving the hero]] about halfway through]], the hero turning out to be [[spoiler: the [[LukeIAmYourFather son of one of the villains]] and the brother of another]] and features stock fantasy races such as elves, dwarves and orcs ([[WritingAroundTrademarks or ''urgals'', as they are called]]), which are pretty much ripped straight off Tolkien. Critics have also pointed out that the plot of ''Eragon'' is so similar to the plot of the first ''Star Wars'' movie, it's practically ''Film/ANewHope'' recycled in Literature/MiddleEarth. The cliches do actually die down more [[GrowingTheBeard in the sequels]], though, with the characters and whatnot becoming more fleshed out.

** Galbatorix in his [[DarkAndTroubledPast backstory]]. Three of his fellow Dragon Riders, their dragons, and his own dragon were killed by Urgals in the Spine right in front of him. The breaking of a bond between dragon and rider in this way is established to be extremely traumatic for whoever survives, and this was exactly the case for Galby, who was left [[HeroicBSOD utterly distraught]] by his dragon's death, on top of the trauma of everything else that occurred. He spent weeks wandering around the wilderness in a delirium, wounded, starving, and [[NearDeathExperience coming close to death]] before finally making his way back to civilization. Desperate to alleviate his grief, he went before his superiors and begged to be given another dragon egg, but the senior Riders refused due to his instability...then apparently just left it at that without offering him further help. The combination of grief over his dragon's death and the [[BrokenPedestal apparent lack of sympathy and support from the Riders]] drove Galby mad, and he eventually became the tyrant he is by the events of the ''Cycle''.

** Many readers (fans and antis alike) can't forget the part where Nasuada had Roran publicly whipped half a hundred times for insubordination...then promoted him because his actions actually won them the battle.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Many readers weren't happy with the way Murtagh's FaceHeelTurn was handled in ''Eldest'', especially Eragon's reaction to it. In ''Brisingr'', Eragon reflects upon the situation and expresses more pity for Murtagh, acknowledging that he never wanted for this to happen and is a "victim of fate"; he also acknowledges that Murtagh is [[spoiler: his brother]], whereas in the previous book he'd disowned him. Also, in 2023 it was announced that he's getting his own spin-off book.
** A complaint of the first two or three books was that Galbatorix, the main villain of the whole series, is so vaguely characterized and so far removed from the events that it could be argued his villainy comes off as an InformedFlaw (as seen on this page, some readers even began RootingForTheEmpire). ''Brisingr'' and especially ''Inheritance'' rectifies this by having Galbatorix get more personally involved in the conflict and Paolini goes out of his way to show that yeah, Galbatorix really ''is'' a cruel and violently unstable tyrant.
** For readers who complained about the constant CharacterShilling and [[CantArgueWithElves lack of criticism]] the [[SuperiorSpecies elves]] got despite their flaws, in ''The Fork, the Witch and the Worm'', Eragon remarks that he's finding the elves rather tedious to deal with due to their stubbornness and superiority complex, and that he's starting to agree with Orik's opinion that they're "best admired from a distance".

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: If not a case of AccidentalAesop. Depending on how you read it, the ''Inheritance Cycle'' can present an Aesop along the lines of "People will ultimately follow in their parents'/predecessors' footsteps whether they like it or not, and [[YouCantFightFate no matter how hard they try to change it]]". [[note]] Eragon ends up becoming a dragon rider who lives in exile almost completely alone, separated from his loved ones forever, just like [[spoiler: his father Brom]]. Arya [[spoiler: never wanted or aspired to be queen, but gets elected queen anyway, as her mother Islanzadi was before her]]. Nasuada is elected the Varden's leader the same as her father Ajihad, then later becomes ruler of the Empire in essentially the same way as Galbatorix; it's even hinted she may end up being a similar ruler if she's not careful. Roran gets a peaceful family life, but is separated from his cousin - who is like a brother to him - and will probably never see him again, much like his dad Garrow and his sister Selena. Murtagh, despite going to extraordinary lengths to avoid it, ends up becoming Galby's lieutenant (albeit not by choice) and ends up hated and feared by everyone, like his father Morzan (though luckily [[spoiler: he's able to get free eventually and helps take down the king...not that this really changes most people's opinion of him]]). Also, like his mother he's forced into committing evil because his boss harms and threatens his loved ones, no matter how much he loathes it. [[/note]]
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Anti-fans of the series love to find [[RonTheDeathEater new interpretations that subvert the good/evil conflict]]. So far, sites such as anti-shurtugal.com have concluded that Eragon is a sociopath, [[LaResistance the Varden]] are {{t|heRevolutionWillNotBeCivilised}}errorists and the original Dragon Riders were a [[FantasticRacism racist]] [[TheMagocracy military junta]].

** Is Galbatorix really just a power-hungry EvilOverlord, or is he more of a WellIntentionedExtremist AntiVillain, who genuinely wants to create a strong, peaceful and orderly empire that will benefit his subjects, and [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans resorts to rather ruthless methods of achieving this]]? The Broddring Empire seems like a pretty decent place to live overall (there are mentions of things like poverty and slavery, but we see [[InformedFlaw little to no evidence of this]] and the people who mention this are [[LaResistance the Varden]]). The majority of citizens seem uninterested in joining or supporting the Varden (they gain most of their financial support and housing from factions outside the Empire, such as the independent state of Surda and the dwarves and elves), which could indicate that the majority of people don't feel they're suffering all that much under Galby. This, in conjunction with Galby's plans to restore the Dragon Riders to defend the Empire, could support the interpretation that at least ''part'' of him wants his realm to be successful.

*** Brom depicts her as [[spoiler: being a very kind and giving person, who would go out of her way to help others and risked her life to spy on Morzan and the Empire]]. Of course, Brom only met her after [[spoiler: she gave birth to Murtagh and her relationship with Morzan went south, and he also [[spoiler: fell in love with her, potentially prompting her True Name to change]], so he could be seen as biased.
*** Jeod describes her as [[spoiler: being utterly cold and ruthless, scaring him more than ''Morzan'' and willingly committing or being party to various atrocities out of love for her demented husband, whom she served as a spy and assassin]]. Like Brom, Jeod may be biased, though in a different way; he admits he never met Selena in person and only knew of her by reputation.
*** Oromis suggests that Selena was [[spoiler: blinded by love for Morzan and didn't fully realize his true nature until they were already married; he further suggests that becoming a mother for the first time changed her as a person, but that she was unable to leave Morzan's service, as he kept Murtagh away from her and used him to keep her obedient]]. Oromis also points out that regardless of what she did as [[spoiler: Morzan's Black Hand]], in the end she chose to [[spoiler: serve the Varden]] and risked everything to ensure Eragon was safe and cared for. This still leaves a fair bit of room for different interpretations of her, such as whether she [[spoiler: switched allegiance to the Varden out of genuine support for the cause or because she saw it as an opportunity to get herself and Murtagh away from Morzan's abuse]], and so forth.

** The series features a big 'un in the shape of previously never-mentioned [[spoiler: magical elf twins]], who cure [[spoiler: Eragon's achy back scar]], allowing him to fight properly again - the only implication is that it's one of the dragon's 'inexplicable' pieces of magic, specifically a physical manifestation of the Rider-Dragon arrangement. It's also later revealed that the specifics of the event [[spoiler: that healed Eragon were done by the hidden Dragon Eldanari, when otherwise nothing might have happened at all]]. They turn up once more in the fourth book [[spoiler: so Eragon can make it so Dwarfs and Urgals can become Riders as well, thus solving all racism forever]].
** Arya becoming [[spoiler: queen of the elves]] at the end of ''Inheritance'' can come off as an contrived excuse for her to not leave Alagaesia with Eragon to maintain the StarcrossedLovers angle; [[WhatCouldHaveBeen orginally]], they going to leave together. A lot of readers think Arya isn't a good choice [[spoiler: as queen; she is alienated from most of elven society due to her work as an ambassador and has no experience in leadership roles. She has no interest in ruling, even coming up with around a hundred reasons why she shouldn't be queen, and dislikes being confined to the elven capital. Elves have an {{elective monarchy}} so she's not duty-bound to rule them even though her mother was queen. It also contradicts Eragon's argument that dragon riders shouldn't be rulers because it's too easy for them to abuse their power and that they should serve all people. For this reason, he himself declines the throne and removes himself from Nasuada's service, but apparently it's fine for Arya to rule over the elves even though she's a dragon rider, too. Paolini addressed the issue of Arya's isolationist tendencies and dislike of Ellesmera by stating that as a rider, she'd spend most of her time travelling anyway, but this seems like another point ''against'' her being queen]].